EU High Representative warns door for Georgia to become bloc’s member “will be closed” due to transparency law
Borrell’s comments followed as top diplomats of EU member states on Monday gathered in Luxembourg to discuss the bloc’s possible measures following the adoption of the law by the Georgian Parliament in May. Photo: EU
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Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on Monday said the door for Georgia to become a member of the European Union was “open” but added it would close if the country’s Government continued on its current track, following its adoption of a controversial law on transparency of foreign influence.
Borrell’s comments followed as top diplomats of EU member states on Monday gathered in Luxembourg to discuss the bloc’s possible measures following the adoption of the law by the Georgian Parliament in May.
We are going to discuss the situation in Georgia and one thing is clear: the door for Georgia to become a member of the European Union is open. But if the government continues on the same track, continues doing what they are doing, this door will be closed. And the Georgian people will pay the consequences, will suffer the fact that the European perspective will be diminished or even cancelled”, he said.
“We are talking about serious things. If things continue like this, the door to the European Union will not be open. And today, I [will] present an option paper to the ministers, explaining the different things that we can do in the short and medium term in order to make this not to continue in Georgia”, he noted.
The EU official reviewed measures in the short term, such as ceasing support through the European Peace Facility, high-level political contacts or considering suspending a part of the financial support that goes directly to the Georgian Government.
We do not want to affect civilians. We do not want to put more pain on the civilian people, but there are decisions - and they are listed - and at the end of the day, I can tell you what has been the reaction of ministers to my proposals”, he concluded.
The Georgian law requires registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.
It was supported by 84 MPs in the 150-member Parliament, with 30 voting against, and requires the groups “considered to be an organisation pursuing the interests of a foreign power” to be registered in the public registry with the status and publicise their received funding.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday said his Government was responsible for the country’s membership of the European Union and noted “all the ongoing processes” in Georgia were aimed at the country’s full integration into the EU in 2030.
Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on Tuesday said the EU “deeply regrets” the decision of the Georgian Parliament to override President Salome Zourabichvili’s veto on the domestic law on transparency of foreign influence and “to disregard the Venice Commission's detailed legal arguments leading to a clear recommendation to repeal this law”.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Sunday marked the country’s Independence Day celebrations by saying that “[everyone’s] Georgian dream is to live in a united and strong” Georgia, together with “our Abkhazian and Ossetian brothers and sisters”, and to become a full-fledged member of the European family in 2030 - 40 years after the restoration of the country’s independence.
The European Union on Wednesday urged the Georgian authorities to withdraw the newly adopted controversial law on transparency of foreign influence, uphold their commitment to the EU integration path and advance necessary reforms detailed in the nine steps outlined by the European Commission for opening accession talks with the country.